Tuesday, December 23, 2008

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Author: Douglas AdamsPages: 216My Rating: 4.0/5

I have never read any sci-fi book in my life and never had the inclination to do so. I picked this up without knowing it was related to sci-fi, only becoz it was highly recommended by friends - and I dont regret it one bit!! It's one of the most hilarious books I have read so far..

"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" is the first book in the 5-part series which involves Arthur Dent and his friend Fort Prefect; and their journey through the galaxy. Arthur Dent is an ordinary earthman who is taken away by his friend Ford (who hails from a small planet somewhere in the vicinity of Betelguese and is also the researcher of the book 'The Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy') few seconds before the earth is demolished. They hitch a ride on one of the Vogon spaceships and meet - Zaphod, the President of the Galaxy who is travelling in one of the new spaceships - The Heart of Gold, with the Infinite Improbability Drive. What follows later through their journey is what the book is all about.

The plot and the fiction part of it is no doubt excellent and I never thought I would love it this much. What I liked the best is the way the book is written - the language, style, the sarcastic sense of humor which is intellectual and verbal rather than slapstick and cliched. Some of the lines from this book have become popular catchphrases...I never understood them till now, when people use to refer to it....things like "42!" which is the answer to every question or a simple phrase like 'Dont Panic!' (read the book and u will know what it is! :-) )

Lines from the book-

Ford stood up. "We're safe," he said."Oh good," said Arthur."We're in a small galley cabin," said Ford, "in one of the spaceships of the Vogon Constructor Fleet.""Ah," said Arthur, "this is obviously some strange usage of the wordsafethat I wasn't previously aware of."

I am waiting to read the next few books in the series.. As soon as am done with my last book for the OT challenge am planning to pick this up!

For those of you who love sci-fi - if you haven't read this you are definitely missing something really good! and those of you who have never tried reading sci-fi or think that you might hate it (just like i did) - this is a real treat!!! Try reading the first book and am sure you will enjoy it as much as I did! Once you do, dont forget to leave me a comment and thank me for recommending ;-)